Four foreign men detained in Indonesia for allegedly planning to take part in militant training were officially named suspects for breaking counter-terrorism and immigration laws, police said Saturday.
The men, who police believe to be ethnic Uighur from China, are suspected of arranging to meet the country’s most wanted militant, Santoso, for training. They were formally arrested on Friday night after a week in custody.
Police are also investigating whether the men have links to the Islamic State group that has seized control over parts of Syria and Iraq, but say their motives for seeking training are so far unknown.
Santoso’s Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) network hides out in the central mountains of Sulawesi island, a known hotbed for militancy, and is blamed for a spate of police killings in the area.
This is the first known case in recent years of foreigners coming to Indonesia for training.
